A la Colthard/ Jetwing Blue and Ministry of Crab

We transferred by coach from Kandy to Negombo, a coastal resort close to Colombo. It was the now standard hairy bus drive of overtaking in the opposite lane and hoping that the vehicle ahead would yield.

Visually it was unattractive, the same old roadside corrugated iron shops, mainly selling food, automotive parts and bridal wear. I have yet to see an estate agent or any of the staple outlets of the British High Street.

As we are only staying overnight it’s hard to form a deep impression of the hotel Jetwing Blue. It appears to be high rise functional with a boutiquey makeover.

The rooms are spacious, well appointed and with an ocean view.

I crossed the road to purchase a charging lead at a shop and was stopped by a tuk tuk driver to ask if I wanted a full body massage. Yes but not with you, son!

The Ministry Of Crab restaurant is owned by Sri Lankan cricketers Jayawardene and Sangakkara.

It has a great reputation and reportedly a three month waiting list. It was mainly populated by Chinese tourists.

As the name would suggest, crab is its specialty.

They offer 4 different ways of cooking 3 heavily spiced in sizes from small to medium, large, jumbo, crabzilla.

However, the lights only illuminated small, medium, to jumbo and crabzilla to indicate the rest were unavailable. The problem too with crab is it’s immensely fiddly to eat. The prawn bisque was so suffused with chilli as to create heartburn.

We ate at a long table for 8 and it’s difficult to find a table for 4 or less.

The bill for five – with gin and tonics and two bottles of Chablis – came to £250, cheaper than most capital cities for a fashionable restaurant.

It had a good atmosphere and service but the general view view was that it fell short of its reputation.